Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

evening all cross-Pennine services out of Blackpool had been cancelled, leaving no other option than to return by using two buses. Not as a result of adverse weather conditions but due to on-going engineering work, Rail Replacement buses/coaches were on duty again on Sunday the 24 th . On the morning of Monday the 25 th there was a light engine move by West Coast between Newark North Gate and Steamtown Carnforth. The loco was 57:314 ' Conwy Castle '. This was new in August 1965 to Tinsley Sheds as D1891, later receiving TOPS number 47:372. Returning mid-afternoon 57:010 had been substituted to return to Newark. Previously TOPS 47:231 this loco was new in September 1965 to Cardiff Canton as D1907. It had been named ' The Silcox Express ' but does not carry a name now. December On Sunday the first day of the month Rail Replacement were again in ope5ation. Northern Trains have issued a warning to intending passengers that there will be a considerable reduction in services up until the New Year especially over the weekends, in some instances no trains at all. This is not entirely due to engineering work, but also due to staff shortages. On Saturday the 7 th , all services between Preston and Blackpool North were being replaced by coaches, which would of course affect the cross-Pennine services connecting York with the resort via Accrington. Very recently new information signs have been installed on the platforms at Accrington. They are better positioned and much easier to read than the ones on the shelters, and give more details of services than before. Late in the afternoon of Thursday the 5 th , West Coast ran another of their excursions. This took the form of one starting in Carnforth, going around by Settle Junction and then down the Ribble Valley Line to Blackburn, where it reversed to go around via Copy Pit and Todmorden to circumnavigate Greater Manchester before returning to Lancaster. In order to achieve this reversal without shunting the locomotives around, this train was topped-and-tailed by 57:315 (formerly 47:234) and 57:601 ' Windsor Castle ' (formerly 47:825). Despite the extraordinary fares this train was fully booked. Local children have been involved in designing artwork to embellish the platforms of Church & Oswaldtwistle Railway Station. The same mural has also been installed at Accrington's Station, and shows the area of Hyndburn 'Greenway' that links the two stations. All those involved in promoting and caring for the local environment praised the work done, including members of the local Rotary Club, the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership. As of Sunday the 15 th , Northern Trains have introduced a 'winter' version of their timetabled services This appears to show that there will be no services connecting Preston and Colne on Sundays. The Network Rail Safety Inspection Train came through on route to Blackpool North from York Carriage Sidings just prior to mid-day. This was formed of single car DMU 153:311. This was a conversion from a Class 155 unit and incorporates parts designed for Leyland National buses. It was initially allocated to Norwich, Crown Point Depot, but now its home depot is the Rail Testing Centre in Derby. Owned by LORAM it is leased from Porterbrook. The pale blue livery states it is to 'maintain a safe railway, It would return in the early afternoon to York having completed the inspection. The following day there was a visit from the Stoneblower . It has been revealed that the North West region has the worst figures for train cancellations in the whole of the country, with the worst performing station being Manchester Victoria followed by Oxford Road also in Cottonopolis. Northern Trains who is the majority operator has put this down to drivers not wanting to work on their rest days or do extra overtime, due to an agreement with the unions involved. They are committed to enrolling and training extra staff to overcome this problem, but obviously this is a long-term solution, whereas the problems continue in the short-term. 2024 - A Review of the Year After a period of twenty years the Colas Rail tanker train between Preston Docks and works on the other side of the Pennines, first at Lindsey and then at Haverton oil

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